I don’t know if this is the right place to post it (probably it isn't) and I do apologize if it is not.

Well, I was think about adding some brains to the comms (or even to engineering and science) and I came with an idea: the player of that station must solve some sort of problem, like word hunt or even crosswords. These "minigames" would not be part of the Artemis software or script.

Do you guys know any mini games that could be downloaded and set up by with some thematic stuff (and without ads)?

I usually only read in this forum, but when dreaming about my custom bridge build recently (which I will probably never actually build due to lack of space and money), I came across a similar idea:

Step 1: Know the ship's statusI think this can be done by hooking into the DMX signals or maybe by using ArtClientLib

Step 2: Setup a mission script that allows control of the ship's statusSimple keybindings to automatically repair the Artemis (to a certain degree) should be enough begin with

Step 3: Create a minigameNow when the Artemis is damaged, a minigame appears on a Touchscreen/PC/... Or maybe the player actually needs to connect some wires based on what "rules" are displayed on the screen. The created circuit can be evaluated on an Arduino or whatever.When this minigame is solved, a keystroke with the appropriate key can be simulated on the GM device causing the Artemis to automatically repair (or can something like the ship's damage be set using ArtClientLib as well?)

This would allow an engineer to do repairs faster than the DamCon teams if he decides to leave his console in order to do the repairs himself.

... ok, this is just me dreaming without knowing what can actually be done

DMX is an interface which allows you to control various external lights from Artemis. So for instance when Comms triggers Red Alert, a light could turn on in the room which casts a red light over everything. DMX is typically used with custom bridges, to allow Artemis to interact with lights built into the player-built consoles.

I'm not sure what Arrew is talking about as I haven't played the Ardent missions, but as a guess I would say he has assigned a key, say the number 0, to trigger a special Comms menu in his scripts. The key trigger could pop up a message box indicating what Comms can do with further button presses. This would be a good way to give Comms additional functionality that the game doesn't give it. In future releases of Artemis, it is hoped Thom will give us the ability to add a button to a console, probably on the Upgrades screen, which will trigger an event in a script. Right now that functionality is only available for the GM console.

There actually is a special feature of Comms that currently can only be used in scripts. You can cause a button to appear on the Comms display, and when it is pressed, an audio file is played. I don't think that's what Arrew is talking about, and I don't think that could be used in a general way to start a minigame, although the sound produced by clicking on the button could be made a minigame of some kind. (For instance, you could record the Expert's part of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes in a series of sound files, with Comms selecting between them and replaying them as needed)

ArtClientLib (currently IAH) is a third party networking package that allows you to write software that will talk to the Artemis server as if it was a client. (And vice versa, although that's less useful) Basically, you can use it to create displays or interfaces that work as an additional console. You've got to be pretty knowledgeable about programming, though, or at least writing Web code.

The hardest part is really the interface back into Artemis. There are already some features to allow you to read some stuff from Artemis and display it. For the other direction, you're basically limited to scripted missions only, and you will probably have to work with some sort of keyboard interface using single key presses.

The new Comms buttons that debuted in 2017 could be used to make lots of minigames in a mission script. Last year Paul Rockwell made one in his mission "Here There Be Monsters" in which the Comms officer must track down a saboteur running lose on your ship. Comms can send Space Marines to apprehend the scoundrel before the next act of sabotage.__________________"The Admiralty had demanded six ships; the economists offered four; and we finally compromised on eight."- Winston Churchill

I have coded up a Safecracker/Mastermind-style minigame for Comms in the current mission I'm working on. There are several minefields that can be deactivated by entering a four-digit code. Right now it just pushes 1/2/3/4/5 buttons out to Comms, but it could do 0-9 if I were feeling ambitious (and cruel). Actually, I limited it to 1-5 because ten Comm buttons doesn't fit well on the screen, and you have to scroll down to get the higher numbers on the screen.

And yes, I realize I can use keyboard inputs from Comm instead of numbered buttons, but right now I'm trying to avoid involving the keyboard as an input device.

I've also been playing around with the Tag text on derelicts and the new scan_level condition in 2.7. I've been pondering something like hiding some simple cyphers on derelicts or monsters via the tags, and then Science has to decrypt it in order to pass a codeword along to Comms, but I'm a little hesitant to make it too involved. I like the idea of only using the touch screen or whatever buttons are provided on the station. If Science or Comms has to scribble things down on a scratchpad, that kinda defeats the purpose of playing a game that deliberately uses a touchscreen as an interface.

Then again, I've heard some gripes that Comm officers have so little to do, they actually think their primary job is to monitor the LRS. So maybe a scratchpad and some coding puzzles wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing?

Some other ideas for Comms/Science games:

Retool the "deactivate minefield" code to some sort of "hack the enemy's shields" minigame, a la Wrath-of-Khan-style to drop the shields to zero.

Science can scan generic meshes to trigger Comm buttons or other events. By destroying/creating a new mesh after the first one is scanned, you can set up a minigame where Science has to scan a certain number of objects in order to unlock something.

Actually, using the scan_level condition, you can trigger all sorts of things, so that scanned ships/objects can drop anomalies, beacons, monsters, meshes, etc.

Create "Hit" and "Stay" buttons for Comms. Now they can play blackjack as well!

Codewords and simple cyphers can be hidden via the tag text on derelicts and monsters.

A Knights/Knaves problem (variation of the "always lies, always tells the truth" puzzle from Labyrinth) where one warpgate/anomaly leads to an upgrade and the other one frags the ship.

Set up a tic-tac-toe or checkerboard grid where a ship can "claim" a square/sector by picking up an item, flying near a buoy, or destroying a "guardian" of some sort. (Maybe changing the color of the nebulas could show one sector as "claimed".)

This idea is either very ambitious or very stupid, but after mucking around with moving around some generic meshes, it might be possible to set up a generic mesh that detects when you "bump" into it, causing it to change direction as if it bounced off of your ship... basically, I was wondering if you could play PONG! with an asteroid.

Once my group had a very good Artemis Session with lots of "off computer" actions. For instance:-We Game Masters (2 of us) had hidden some itens in the garden of the house that a away team needed to find (and while those players where looking for the items, enemy ships attacked Artemis with a crew of only 2 people!)-To fix some engineering problems, we gave that player a puzzle (a real world 3d one).-To combat intruders, the weapons officer had to shot some targets with a airsoft pistol

It was only possible because we´re playing in a large house. I wish I could had minigames to play similar stuff with our notebooks while playing in my small room!

ryleyra was working on something similar a while back, you might want to check it out: https://artemis.forumchitchat.com/post/artemis-away-team-8476733__________________Note - this is in no way intended to be an official position of Thom or Artemis, as I am not an official representative of the creator or game.

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